Chapter 10 : magic

Allen brought Tia back to the Duke Orthen's residence. Before Aloni left, Horikita told her to come to the guild if she needed anything.

Tia nodded in a half-hearted manner.

Upon arriving in her room, she immediately cleaned herself. The system watched her with concern, seeing how hard Tia scrubbed her body until her skin was red.

[Host....]

'You saw it, didn't you?'

Those disgusting memories. Tia's eyes darkened.

It was summer.

Not only was the air hot, but her heart was also burning.

She was so angry.

People knew she was the only girl there. Tia still remembered feeling utterly helpless and weak back then.

She was a woman.

A fact that couldn't be changed.

So what could she do?

At that time, she could only be silent and obedient, enduring the humiliation of being the only woman there. Meanwhile, her parents wanted her to be a "man."

So how did she accept her fate?

Was she willing to be submissive to men?

Could she bear to give up her honor as a woman?

No.

Even if she was tainted, it didn't mean she was a person who wanted to fall alone.

So she killed them.

She killed all of them, the people who had hurt her.

[Host.... How did you not end up in jail?]

Tia laughed in her heart. It was all thanks to money. All thanks to her inhumane parents. Perhaps this blood itself flowed from them.

Tia slowly calmed down, looking at her hands and muttering.

'System... I haven't completed the side mission.'

The system felt Tia's fluctuating emotions and tried to calm her down.

[It doesn't matter, Host. What's more important now is your mental health.]

[How about we look at a new feature? The status feature.]

Tia sighed and said in her mind.

'Status.'

The status window opened before her. Tia sat in the bathtub without a word, staring calmly at her status window.

[Name: Amertia

Age: 30 years old.

Gender: Female.

LV: 30 Next level: 3500 exp

Occupation: Corporate boss

Title: none

Weapon: Sword of Death.

Mana: 60/100

Magic attribute:????

Strength: 80/100

Skill: Iron Fist, (???), (???)

Special skill: Blessing of the Goddess of War, Blessing of the Goddess of Death.

Special note: The woman summoned by God.]

What does this mean?

Tia was stunned. She read her status repeatedly before she could be sure. This was not an illusion. She truly had a god's blessing.

But what is a god's blessing?

[It means you can use the god's power when you can activate it.]

So when do I use a god's power?

[When you learn magic, the higher your mana, the greater the possibility that you can use the god's Blessing.]

But the god's blessing that is currently active is...

[Special attribute: Immortality]

It means she cannot die. As per the wish of the God of Life. She will not be able to die until her mission is complete.

Tia, finally calm, put on the clothes that Albert had provided. She fell onto the bed without drying her hair.

Slowly, she closed her eyes.

Good night, my dear.

The wind blew. Darkness enveloped the world. That night, Leila spent her time studying her sister's tasks.

After tracing what she had been through.

Her heart ached.

Amertia had experienced so much. But her lips had never opened to anyone. It was as if she was used to bearing it all alone.

"Sister, I'm sorry."

Her eyes were watery, and she couldn't hold back her sobs.

"Sister, please wake up for me."

When Tia woke up, tears were already flowing heavily, but she didn't remember.

Why was she crying?

[You've been crying since you fell asleep, Host.]

Tia said nothing. She cleaned herself and put on a shirt that belonged to Allen when he was younger.

Fortunately, it fit her perfectly, so she wore it without any problems.

Tia didn't forget to take a slip of paper from Horikita and read it. It was an address. She didn't know where it was, so she would have to ask later.

Albert brought her to meet Duke Orthen, Noah Orthen. He truly gave off a calming, meadow-like impression.

The man had long green hair like a meadow, and his emerald eyes were bright, like glass that could reflect light.

"Allen has told me about it. Greetings, transmigrator girl. My name is Noah Orthen, Duke of the Northern territory. It is an honor for us to welcome a person chosen directly by the God of Life."

Noah stared at Tia's appearance for a moment, as if he was evaluating a quality item. "I also apologize for Allen's rude actions. He does have a tendency toward aggression when it comes to a person's appearance."

The man touched his chin, looking thoughtful.

"And your appearance does look like... death."

Tia was bewildered.

"Did Allen not tell you? Do you know about the heretics?"

Tia replied, "Allen has already told me about them."

Noah smiled and continued. "As has been explained, the heretics often use quite... extreme methods for their god, the Goddess of Death."

"The problem here is with those who have seen the Goddess of Death."

"Your appearance is exactly like hers."

Tia froze.

'System, what does he mean? Is he implying I'm the Goddess?'

[There was a previous leak in the sacred oracle. Those who approach death have an appearance like yours.]

Well, this is another world, so a discrepancy in appearance is normal...

Noah chuckled at Tia's hardened face. He said with a gentle smile.

"I'm not accusing you of being the Goddess's reincarnation, but I'm concerned that you'll be mistaken for a follower of death."

"Although not everyone is a heretic, it will be difficult for you to blend in with your current appearance."

"Those who follow death have a beautiful appearance, like a pearl of the night."

Noah approached Tia. He bowed slightly to bring their eyes to the same level, and Tia could faintly see a magic circle in his eyes.

What was he doing?

Hypnosis?

Mind control?

A mind-reading technique?

Tia could feel his breath blowing gently on her face, and a faint, fresh mint aroma came from the man's body.

Then Noah kept his distance, his face calm with an unchanging smile.

"Tell me, can you do magic?"

Tia shook her head.

"I have seen the condition of your body. You have quite good physical abilities. Your mana is pervasive, though not as strong as your physical strength. Are you interested in learning magic? I can enroll you in the academy."

Tia was surprised. Before she could answer, her system gave her a mission.

[Ding! Main mission has appeared!]

[Learn magic at the guild, find the god's fragment there!]

[Host! This is your mission! The god's soul detector says the fragment is in the guild!]

Have I ever been to the guild??? Did you open the map feature yet?

[When you were running with Leo, you passed the guild to get to the church. The church was actually part of the guild, and the sword was their artifact.]

I'm a thief.

[Didn't you meet the guild leader? That boy Horikita is the founder,] the system said with enthusiasm.

Tia looked at Noah and replied, "Is it possible to learn magic at the guild?"

Noah was surprised. "Actually, yes. Although it's not as good as the academy, there are many adventurers and mages there. You have to choose your teacher carefully, and once you have achieved the necessary skills, the guild can issue a letter stating that you have graduated as a mage there."

Realizing the meaning behind her words, Noah asked seriously, "You want to learn magic at the guild? Not the academy? Can you tell me the reason?"

Tia calmly answered, "A mission from the god."

Noah's expression changed, and he nodded in understanding. "Alright, is there anything I can help you with? Do you have a way to get there?"

Tia carefully remembered Horikita's message to contact him when she needed help. She calmly took the slip of paper that Horikita had given her earlier out of her pants pocket.

Noah read the address and looked at her.

"Where did you get this address? This is the main guild office."

He then turned the paper over and raised an eyebrow. There was a signature. Although it looked like a random scribble, Noah had seen it before.

It was the man he had done business with earlier.

"I met the guild leader," Amertia answered.

Noah chuckled. "Would you like me to contact him?"

"Is there a way?"

"I can write a letter and inform him of your wish. By coincidence, we are business acquaintances."

Tia nodded in understanding and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, sir."

Noah shook his head and immediately touched her shoulder. "Technically, you have a higher standing than me. Besides, you are the god's chosen one. As a person living under the grace of his power, I must help you. You don't need to bow to me; I am the one who should be bowing."

"You also don't need to call me 'Duke' or anything like that, just call me by my name."

Wow. Tia felt touched, and even the system in her mind praised Noah's words as a loyal follower.

[Oh, the god must be proud of this one follower.]

Tia smiled gently. "Thank you."

Noah's eyes were fixated on her face before he looked away. He then pulled out a pouch full of gold and said, "I'm sorry, there are no clothes that fit you here. You can use this money to buy your necessities."

Although she was reluctant to be in debt, Tia really had no money now. In this different world, her status as a corporate boss was useless.

[Host, by completing missions, there will be more in the future. Trust me.]

Alright.

Even so, this was the first time she had received gold coins instead of paper money. The feeling it gave her was quite... new.

Tia smiled, her black eyes reflecting Noah's figure in them, without her even realizing it. "Thank you, Noah."

With that, she left the Duke's office and returned to her room after excusing herself.

Inside the office, Noah sat looking out the window, wondering.

What was that?

He didn't even realize that time had passed until Allen came home and entered his office.

"What's wrong with you?"

Noah finally came to his senses and blushed. "Allen, isn't that transmigrator girl beautiful?"

Beautiful?

Allen, not remembering Tia's bloody appearance yesterday, fell silent.

"Not bad."

After all, before, Allen had considered Tia more of a strange creature than a human. But after seeing her so... empty and frustrated, he realized that even though she was from a different world, she was still fundamentally human.

Allen also felt guilty for choking the girl during their first meeting.

After all, at that time he was on high alert because of the spies targeting him.

But he knew that wasn't the real reason. Maybe it was because her appearance reminded him of death.

Allen looked at his brother. "You like her?"

Allen coughed. "Not really."

"Oh?"

Allen felt a little embarrassed after being stared at by his brother. Ugh, even though Allen was adopted, the relationship between the two brothers was very good, like biological siblings.

They had gotten to know each other very well.

"Alright, I'm a little interested in her."

"But the god might not agree," Allen said bluntly. "The god gave them a mission, not to fall in love."

"But doesn't that mean that after she completes her task, there will be a chance for me?"

Allen fell silent and sighed. "Good luck to you."